Doctor Brings Free Medical Care To Sonoma's Needy

At few medical clinics will you find a food bank inside.

But at the Jewish Community Free Clinic in the Sonoma County town of Cotati, patients sometimes need more nourishment than needles. And that's not all that makes it different.

"This is actually the very first free clinic that's been established by the Jewish community in the entire country in the last hundred years," said co-founder Dr. Robin Lowitz.

Lowitz says she drew upon the touchstones of her cultural heritage when she opened the doors five years ago.

"Tikkun olam... means repairing the world," said Lowitz. "That means that if you see a wrong in the world that you as a person of humanity are mandated to take action and do something about it... The other cultural precept that this free clinic is based on is a word called tzedakah, which comes from the Hebrew word for justice, and literally translated it means righteous acts."

The clinic provides free medical care to anyone in the county who is uninsured. Lowitz estimates that in Sonoma County that is about 50,000 people -- including migrants working at vineyards and in other low-paying jobs.

Francisco Lara and her children have been using the clinic for three years.

"It's so great, so good," she said. "They help us a lot and that's very good. They give us good services."

Lowitz says routine medical care is critical for families to avoid disaster.

"What would generally happen is they would wait until the severity of their illness is such that they would end up in the emergency room, and at that point it becomes a far more difficult presentation medically to manage generally," she said. "Not only that, but it's far more costly to society as a whole."

Of course, nothing would work here without all of the volunteers Lowitz has managed to recruit. They come in all ages, from seniors to juniors. In all, there are more than 100 doctors, social workers, Spanish-language interpreters, students, and nurses. Rita Kagen, an RN, has been with Lowitz since the beginning.

"We started in Robin's kitchen," she said. "It was just so exciting that we have this clinic now, and it's really wonderful. It's rewarding. It's delightful to work here, it really is."

So for curing the ills, easing the hurts, and even filling the empty stomachs of more than 2000 medically uninsured people in Sonoma County each year, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Dr. Robin Lowitz.

By Barbara Rodgers